Del Monte Update: Negotiations begin

Labor Alerts, 28 February 2000

Del Monte's subsidiary in Guatemala has begun to sit down with other key
players to discuss a case which has now become an international scandal.
Three sources of pressure appear to have been crucial in bringing Bandegua
(the Del Monte subsidiary) to the table:

International pressure on Del Monte. The company's interest in finding a
resolution of the conflict underscores the importance of keeping up the
pressure on the U.S.-based Del Monte company.

U.S. pressure on the government of Guatemala. Guatemala remains under a
cloud with regard to its trade relations with the U.S. The U.S. Trade
Representative's office has not yet announced whether it will put
Guatemala's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits on probation
because of the impunity enjoyed by those who engaged in violent
intimidation of banana workers in Morales, Guatemala.

The efforts of a new Labor Minister in Guatemala, Juan Francisco Alfaro
Mijangos, who began negotiating with the company in mid-January. The new
Labor Minister was formerly the General Secretary of CUSG, the union
confederation to which the banana worker union SITRABI is affiliated.

It remains to be seen what these negotiations will achieve. Activists are
urged to stand ready for a call to escalate the Del Monte campaign if
negotiations fail to settle the conflict soon. In the meantime, please
continue to ask local produce managers to take Del Monte bananas off the
shelves for any two-week period to put pressure on the company.